Determinants of Adherence to Healthy Eating Patterns in a Population of Children and Adolescents: Evidence on the Mediterranean Diet in the City of Mataró (Catalonia, Spain).

Arcila-Agudelo Arcila-Agudelo,Ferrer-Svoboda Ferrer-Svoboda,Farran-Codina Farran-Codina,Torres-Fernàndez Torres-Fernàndez

doi:10.3390/nu11040854

Arcila-Agudelo Arcila-Agudelo, Ferrer-Svoboda Ferrer-Svoboda + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11040854

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Abstract

Despite its benefits, the Mediterranean diet (MD) is being abandoned or not adopted by young generations in most Mediterranean countries. In Spain, up to 69% of the child and adolescent population has been found to have suboptimal adherence to the MD. The aim of this study was to analyze which factors are associated with an optimal adherence to the MD in school-age children and adolescents from Mataró, Spain. A cross-sectional study was performed on 1177 children and adolescents aged between 6 and 18 years from Mataró. The Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for Children and Adolescents (KIDMED index) was used to evaluate adherence to a MD. We found that over 59% of subjects showed suboptimal adherence to a MD, with this prevalence being higher for secondary school than for primary school children. The factors positively associated with following an optimal MD were the mother’s education level, children at the primary school level, the absence of distractions at breakfast, and regular physical activity. The availability of spending money was negatively associated with the likelihood of optimal adherence to a MD. Future research should study more in-depth the possible causality between the factors studied and adherence to a MD.

Highlights

Globalization has led to a rise in the so-called “Western” dietary pattern, characterized by the presence of foods with high quantities of refined carbohydrates, sugars, salt, saturated fats, trans fats, animal proteins, and artificial coloring and flavoring [1]
Among the different factors studied for their possible association with whether or not children and adolescents follow a healthy diet have been (i) socioeconomic and demographic factors such as family composition, financial income, and parents’ education [16,17,22,23,24,25]; (ii) participation in regular physical activity [20,26,27,28]; and (iii) participation in sedentary activities both at school and outside of school [17,29,30,31]. As most of these results have focused on adolescents rather than children, there has been a lack of studies that have simultaneously investigated both populations, children and adolescents, and which factors might be associated with their adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) [32,33]
This study suggests that some factors are associated with the likelihood of optimal adherence to the MD

Summary

Introduction

Globalization has led to a rise in the so-called “Western” dietary pattern, characterized by the presence of foods with high quantities of refined carbohydrates, sugars, salt, saturated fats, trans fats, animal proteins, and artificial coloring and flavoring [1]. In contrast to this trend, there remain other traditional dietary models considered highly beneficial to health, such as the Mediterranean diet (MD). Multiple studies have suggested that a high degree of adherence to the MD is associated with a lower risk of several types of chronic and degenerative diseases, in turn increasing life expectancy and Nutrients 2019, 11, 854; doi:10.3390/nu11040854 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients

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